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Whether they shelter a table, a couple of chairs or a luxurious chaise lounge for two, canopied gazebos have become inexpensive additions to sunny gardens. They provide some shade but allow cooling breezes to move through them. Many canopy tops accommodate mosquito netting, or fabric screening, which is beneficial where bugs are a problem. Replacing the worn canopy top and fabric screening of your gazebo extends the structure's lifespan and gives you a chance to redecorate by changing the color scheme.

Installing the Canopy

1

Measure your gazebo carefully, enlisting at least two helpers who can assist you. Find a canopy top and fabric screening that match the gazebo's original versions.

2

Set the replacement canopy top and fabric screening near the gazebo, and ensure all of their pieces are present. Many companies provide fabric fastener ties, but others include string ties or shower curtain-type hangers for the screening.

3

Lay the canopy's main roof piece across the top of your gazebo, rolling the top over the structure's peak by using a ladder. If your gazebo has a vented top, ease the hole in the canopy's main roof piece over the gazebo's top frame that stands like the ribs of an umbrella at the roof's peak. A small vent piece typically has pockets at its corners to slip over the ribs.

4

Secure the canopy's main roof piece, beginning at its corners. Ease diagonal corners over the gazebo frame so the canopy spreads evenly. Attach corner ties or fabric fastener strips to the structure's frame. Attach the rest of the canopy to the frame, first along the ribs to the peak then around the perimeter, depending on your gazebo model.

Hanging the Screening

1

Determine whether or not the replacement fabric screening's four pieces are numbered in the order they are to be hung. If they are labeled, follow the order in which they are labeled when hanging them.

2

Clip drapery hooks on the gazebo's periphery rods for hanging screening pieces that require them. Some hooks are part of the hardware in the gazebo frame, and some screening zips into the canopy along its edges.

3

Hang each of the four fabric screening pieces, beginning with the center of the screening that ties to a corner and working outward, hanging grommets on the hooks from the corner toward the center of each side. Alternately, zip in screening sections, beginning in the center on one side and proceeding around the corner to another side. Zip screening pieces together as you work your way around the gazebo.

4

Attach ties or fabric fastener strips at the bottom of each screen to the gazebo's four corner posts. Many kinds of fabric screening also have ties along their vertical sides at corners; those ties are helpful to secure the pieces and keep them straight.

Things You Will Need

Measuring tape

8-foot-tall ladder

Helpers

Tips

Study your gazebo's old canopy, and match the rigging system as well as the exact measurements of that canopy and the fabric screening. Buy a unit canopy and screening if possible to avoid having to make alterations or to buy extra parts.

Order your replacement from the store at which you bought the gazebo or from a factory-direct supplier that offers to help match its covers to your gazebo.

Warning

Never attempt to install a canopy on a windy day. It may sail away and can rip unless you have enough helpers to tie all the ties at exactly the same time.

About the Author

An avid perennial gardener and old house owner, Laura Reynolds has had careers in teaching and juvenile justice. A retired municipal judgem Reynolds holds a degree in communications from Northern Illinois University. Her six children and stepchildren served as subjects of editorials during her tenure as a local newspaper editor.